


Oasis

by parttimehuman



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Kinda, Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Skinny Dipping, Softness, Summer, Swimming, Swimming Boys, also kinda - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-06-02 09:07:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19438303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parttimehuman/pseuds/parttimehuman
Summary: On a hot summer day, the only place Liam wants to go is the little lake in the preserve none of his friends know about.To stay sane while surviving, Theo needs his beautiful oasis in the woods.They've never met there before. Maybe because they weren't ready. But now?





	Oasis

The second he's entered his home, Liam drops the backpack that's left sweaty traces behind on his shirt where the straps were weighing too heavy on his shoulders. Only a second later, the t-shirt joins his school stuff on the floor, then his pants and shoes until Liam feels freed. He walks into the kitchen and thanks God (God being his mother) for the juice that's waiting there.

There should be a law against classes in the heat that's currently tormenting northern California, Liam finds. The walk to school in the morning alone is exhausting enough for an entire day and then his brain feels like it's been molten into one useless, thick glob. Liam has enough difficulties with high-pitched voices and the scratching of chalk against a board on a normal day, but at the moment, he doesn't stand a chance.

On a day like this, there's only one thing to do. Homework is hopeless. Even playing video games all afternoon for once isn't what Liam wants, since his bedroom gets too hot during those hours. Normally, when his mood isn't the best, Liam takes his lacrosse stick to the backyard or his running shoes to the preserve until he feels better, but in the current summer heat? No thank you. In the end, there's only one place in the whole world where Liam wants to be at the moment, so he empties his backpack and leaves his books on the floor, stuff everything he needs inside it, thankfully remembers to put on a pair of shorts and steps outside again. Just a few more minutes, Liam tells himself as he shields his eyes from the sun. In a few more minutes, he'll enter paradise.

*

Summer days are merciful in comparison. Theo doesn't need a lot of clothes and sleeping in the truck at night doesn't come with the risk of freezing to death. The sheriff's deputies prefer the air-conditioned station over the streets and Theo is almost free to do what he wants. Pools have to be cleaned and lawns need regular mowing. It's the closest to job security Theo figures he'll ever know, so he takes it. But there's one thing about those summer days, or rather one place Theo loves especially.

This one place doesn't have to do with his life as a homeless high school student trying to survive one day after another. It's not one of those things that make life slightly less difficult for him. It's not a way to save money, or to earn it. It's not a place to stay or one to hide in. It's no help with his education, no guarantee for safety, no insurance for his health. Theo doesn't need it to survive.

Maybe he needs it to stay sane while surviving.

As always, Theo leaves the truck at the edge of the preserve. He could drive further, but he doesn't want to. When he comes here, he doesn't want to keep all of his belongings close out of fear to lose them. When he comes here, he wants to be simply Theo, a boy alone with himself in the woods, so he walks through the trees and enjoys the shadow, listening to the noises of the forest and being quiet himself. It's only a ten minute walk until there's a clearing and a change of sounds. Less cracking of twigs, more rushing of water and singing of birds.

Theo stands still and inhales deeply. Slowly, he breathes in the beauty of his surroundings. For too many years, Theo didn't think beauty could be worth anything. His mind changed when he came to the little lake in the preserve the first time. Without filling his tummy or his wallet, the place gives him  _ something _ , something that's maybe even more precious, something he maybe even needs more badly in his life.

It's why he keeps going. During the colder months, he just stands and stares. Sometimes there's a little snow, not the kind of gray mud you find on the streets, but the untouched kind, white and glistening and fluffy. Soft; something Theo shouldn't have a use for. In fall, he watches the colors change from green to yellow to orange to brown. He keeps track of the million shades in between, tries to remember them all. In spring, Theo feels like coming alive the same way the forest comes back to life, wild flowers popping up everywhere around him, birds returning, endless green in every direction. A few times, it almost felt like the chance to a new beginning.

Summer is different. Summer is like nothing else. The sun shining through the spaces between leaves. Light and shadow. The cooling water of the lake. Sand and stones beneath his bare feet. Soft winds and the quiet that seems just right. It's an escape, a place Theo gets to enjoy for a while before he needs to return to reality. He knows this, isn't stupid enough to believe he owns any of the beauty he discovered there. It's his oasis, but it isn't  _ his _ . Not really.

*

With every tree he passes, Liam can breathe a little more freely. He likes seeing all his friends at school, and he likes being surrounded by the lacrosse team pretty much wherever he goes. He likes that Scott and Stiles have somehow adopted him into their friend group and he likes being as close to Mason as a brother would be. Spending a day all by himself isn't something Liam does very often, but this time, he wants to. Suddenly, he's very glad that he hasn't told anyone else about the little lake in the preserve yet.

Liam throws his backpack and his shorts away. He hesitates very briefly but then he discards his underwear as well. It's not like he's ever seen anyone else around the lake. The shore's a bit rocky, not exactly a sand beach. The water is a little muddy, a little cold. Even if the other kids from school knew the place, Liam figures they'd prefer Beacon Hills' public swimming pool over it. Idiots, he thinks, but he isn't going to complain about having the place to himself.

Once he's naked, Liam has suddenly forgotten where his bad mood from earlier had come from. He climbs on top of a rock, takes one deep breath in and jumps. The water is cold around his body, but after the first five seconds, it feels like everything he's needed all day. As he resurfaces, Liam shakes his head and rubs his eyes. It's stupid, but it's not like anyone can see him as he smiles for moment. Ridiculous as it seems, a few trees and some cool water can make Liam deeply happy in a way nothing else can. He starts swimming diagonally across the lake. There's no goal ahead except the other shore.

*

Theo stops dead in his tracks. He's never seen a single soul in or at or even remotely around the lake. Not a single one, and now, out of all of Beacon Hills' population, it has to be Liam Dunbar. Of course. Theo stands like paralyzed and watches Liam getting closer to the water's edge at the opposite side from him. If he's being honest with himself, it's neither Liam's naked body nor the way he glides into the water from a little rock like a falling angel that shakes Theo to the core, it's the smile on his face when he emerges, not meant for Theo - or anyone, for that matter - to see, and therefore possibly the most beautiful that Theo has ever witnessed.

The smile is there for only a moment and then it's gone again, Theo's attention being drawn to the wet hair sticking to Liam's neck and the movement of muscles in his shoulders as he swims. Swims directly towards Theo, not looking at him, possibly not even having noticed him standing there, but it's only a matter of time. Theo can't possibly disappear without making a noise that would draw Liam's attention. If he stays where he is, Liam will see him in about five seconds, probably.

_ One, two… _

"Theo?"

So Liam doesn't even need five seconds.

"Uh, hi," Theo says. He doesn't know why he's the one feeling like he's been caught doing something forbidden. The lake isn't Liam's any more than it's Theo's. Theo has been coming here for a long time and he's never once come across Liam, so what's the matter? What does Theo think he's being caught doing, exactly?

"What are you doing here?" Liam wants to know, smiling brightly at him, swimming closer.

It's at that moment that Theo realizes what part of him is being exposed. "Nothing," he shrugs. "Fleeing the sun, I guess."

_ Being human, _ he thinks, but doesn't say.

"Makes sense," Liam nods. When he reaches solid ground, he stands up, the water reaching to his stomach. Water drops are glistening in the hair covering his chest.

Theo doesn't care about this, or he shouldn't, because he never has. He can tell if a person is attractive, but he doesn't  _ care _ , because the way people look doesn't affect him. What he's seeing now is just a pair of broad shoulders and thick arms. A bare chest and some hair and muscles beneath wet skin. It's nothing fundamentally different from his own body, and yet, Theo can't stop staring.

"Are you just going to stand there all day?" Liam wants to know. Theo is kind of afraid of how long he's been shamelessly watching (well, okay, to be fair, he does feel a certain kind of shame). Liam raises his eyebrows and opens his arms wide. "Or are you going to join me?"

Of course. Theo should do the obvious thing and at least get into the water. He just doesn't know- He's not exactly taken a bath with anyone before. Plus…

"Theo Raeken," Liam interrupts his thoughts, laughing. "Don't tell my you're a shy guy. And even if, I'm guessing you saw me stripping just as well, so it's only fair."

Theo doesn't say anything. Liam's eyes on him should be the least of his problems.

"Fine," Liam sighs, "I'll turn around until you're in." He rolls his eyes but smiles, turning around to face away, presenting Theo with his back. The sight is completely unrelated to the sudden twitch of Theo's fingers though.

"That's not-" Theo begins, although getting naked while Liam is watching kind of is a problem for him too. "That's not the problem."

As if to prove it, Theo kicks his shoes off and stuffs his socks inside them, then pulls his shirt over his head and drops it on top of them. Liam turns back around and Theo's heart starts hammering like crazy. His cheeks feel hot somehow. Telling himself that he was unaffected while looking at Liam was a total lie already, but Liam looking at  _ him _ ? Theo is hopeless. Why is Liam the only person he wants to be seen by? And why does the way his eyes rake over Theo feel like a gentle touch Theo wants to lean into?

"What  _ is _ the problem?" Liam asks.

Theo can barely breathe, let alone speak. There are a million problems. There's the thing about his safest place being not as safe as he thought it was. All of his insecurities count at least as a hundred problems. Theo doesn't want to get close to Liam, doesn't want to risk being found out. He isn't what Liam expects and he doesn't want to witness the moment of disappointment. But the biggest problem is Liam and the crisp blue of his eyes. The biggest problem is how he melts all of Theo's inhibitions away like they're nothing, like they haven't been worked on so very hard for many years.

Theo shakes his head. It's not fair that Liam makes him so weak.

"I can't swim," Theo says.

*

Liam has to smile. "You don't have to swim," he says. It's not like he doesn't enjoy watching a shirtless Theo staring back at him, but the chance to get Theo closer? He isn't going to miss it. "The water is only really deep in the middle of the lake and back there." Liam points in the direction where he jumped in.

"Yeah but it's still- I don't know."

Liam can tell that Theo isn't convinced, but he isn't running either, so there must be something keeping him around. "Yeah okay, I get it," Liam says. "You can't swim, I'm not going to make you come in here."

Theo releases a breath that somehow tugs at Liam's heart, whatever kind of magic trick that is. It's not like they've ever been close, but that's not because Liam never wanted to. He just didn't know how to approach Theo, who takes two steps back for every step someone takes towards him.

"The water probably feels really good," Theo says. He doesn't really smile, but an invisible force tugs at one corner of his mouth and Liam wants to press his lips there. He would, if he wasn't so sure it would send Theo running.

"It does," Liam replies. "It's really awesome." He lies back and lets himself float. "I've been waiting all day to do this. School was hell. This is perfect. Just perfect."

With Liam not watching, Theo slowly steps closer to the lake. It's hard to keep his eyes away, but Liam feels like it's the right thing to do. His eyes are strained to listen though, all of his attention focused on Theo moving and undressing himself. In a way, it's the same as what he's been doing for the past months, always having an eye on Theo, but never letting him feel it. It's how he found out that the home Theo goes back to after school is his truck. It's how he found out many more things, a million little details Theo was trying to hide, details that took a lot of patience to discover. Liam has been seeing things without being caught looking for a long time.

"Who taught you how to swim?" Theo asks.

Liam chuckles. "My mom," he says. "My dad was supposed to. The summer before I got into school. I guess my mom wanted us to spend time together. To bond, or whatever."

For a moment it's silent, but then Theo speaks. "What happened?"

"He left," Liam answers. "Well, he didn't actually leave. He just never came home early enough to still have time for me. And then he wasn't in the mood to entertain a five-year-old on the weekends. And then there were a hundred other excuses, I don't even remember them, I just remember that he never actually took me swimming. My mom was pretty mad about it. Not the swimming, I guess, but him refusing to make an effort to be a real dad to me. And a husband to her, too, I think. They had a fight. She was furious, I remember that. Furious enough for him to pack a bag and finally take me to a swimming pool."

Liam can hear faint splashes of water. He doesn't look, but if he did, he'd find Theo standing there, water reaching to his calves. A little more time. A little more patience. Theo is worth it, Liam knows this. A little more honesty. Openness. A little more of what nobody else is giving Theo.

"It was a disaster," Liam continues. "He got upset with me because I just wouldn't get it right. I wanted to meet his expectations, of course. He was my dad, even if he wasn't trying very hard. At some point he just threw me in. He said I should be able to swim after all the time he'd spent trying to teach me. A pool attendant pulled me out. My mom woke me up the same night and put me in her packed up car. We stayed at my grandma's until my mom found an apartment for us in Beacon Hills. She took me to the swimming pool as soon as we'd moved in. And then she taught me how to swim."

"Were you scared?" Theo wants to know. "You know, to go back into the water after..."

Theo doesn't finish the sentence. It doesn't matter to Liam.

"Of course," Liam replies. He definitely cried the first time. Maybe the first three or four times.

"How?" Theo asks. Liam can hear him stepping further inside, hissing when more and more of his body is surrounded by cool water. Every time he moves, he holds his breath first and then slowly relaxes. Liam wishes he could see his face, but he'll take a few irregular noises over nothing at all.

"How what?"

"How did it work? How did you get over your fear and learned how to swim in the end?"

Liam shrugs. "I knew my mom wouldn't let go of me like me dad had. She never left my side until I told her to. She wouldn't have let anything happen to me. I was safe."

Theo winces and whines, and then he's suddenly all the way into the water so only his head remains above the surface. Slowly, with a smile on his face Liam can't fight, he turns his head to look at him. Theo looks scared, and he looks fragile. He looks beautiful, too, like he always has, at least to Liam.

"I never tried," Theo says.

Liam opens his arms, hand floating close to Theo's chest now, not touching him.

"Tried what?"

"To learn how to swim," Theo tells him. "Never had anyone to teach me."

Liam searches for Theo's eyes now, making sure he's looking at him before he speaks. The light makes gray sprinkles appear in the green of his irises and Liam finds it hard to hold back, but he will.

"When the day comes," Liam says. "The day when you want to. I'll be here. You have someone to teach you now."

Liam's arms are carried by the water, same as Theo's, their hands brushing for a second before they drift apart again. Liam smiles and averts his eyes again, looking up into the sky, but Theo isn't trying to run anywhere this time.

Theo wraps his fingers around Liam's wrist and pulls him closer. Being just slightly shorter than Theo, Liam can't reach the ground that Theo is standing on, so he holds onto Theo's shoulders instead, initially afraid to scare him off, but Theo seems to have decided against it.

One arm wraps around Liam's waist, resting in his back, pushing him towards Theo. "Okay?" Theo asks without making a sound. It's just the movement of his lips. His lips, that are suddenly  _ right there. _

"Okay," Liam nods, trying to be just as silent as Theo although he wants to scream it into the world. It's him and Theo and it's okay, it's finally okay, and he couldn't be any happier.

Theo's other hand moves up to his face, brushing wet strands of hair out of the way while his lips part just slightly. Before Theo can ask again, Liam nods. It's okay.

They kiss. Liam breathes in and Theo breathes out. Liam holds on and Theo keeps him steady. Liam tilts his head and Theo cups his cheek and then they lean in and are just close for a moment, just close to another until they can't stand not kissing each other any longer. Theo's lips brush Liam's, carefully at first, just for a second, almost as if he's scared to do it wrong, but to Liam, nothing has ever been as exactly and fundamentally right as their kiss. He presses their lips together and something happens with Theo that Liam can't explain, something that changes the way he carries himself, and the way he holds Liam. The way he moves and breathes and kisses and the look in his eyes as the pull apart.

"Wow," Liam smiles. "What was that kiss for?"

Theo smiles too, properly this time. "Nothing," he says as he shrugs, but nothing isn't true. This nothing isn't just that, isn't empty. It's full of truths Theo can't admit yet but Liam knows anyway, full of secrets he's willing to wait his whole life for. However long it takes.

*

If beauty isn't something that Theo needs, then what is Liam doing to him right now? There's water all around him but solid ground beneath his feet. Most importantly, there's Liam. This time, it would have been so easy to push him away. He could have run. He could have turned around and walked away. He could have stayed out of the water. Could have played it safe, like he always has.

Theo holds Liam's face between his hands and looks at it, the lips that are swollen from their kisses and the eyes that are everything to him. Maybe safe isn't as far away from Liam as possible. Maybe safe isn't his oasis. Maybe his oasis isn't even his oasis. Maybe Liam is his oasis. Maybe it's Liam.

**Author's Note:**

> This story was born out of Manon's lovely prompt from [this list.](https://flyde.tumblr.com/post/184799800051/a-kissing-prompt-list) Feel free to send some more! 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
